Entropedian
Object 490 "Poplar" MBT
Since their first appearance lumbering over the fields of the Somme in 1916, the tank has been a core component of warfare, providing mobile, protected firepower. During the Cold War, it was expected that thousands of increasingly advanced NATO and Soviet Main Battle Tanks would clash on the plains of central Europe. Perhaps the ultimate Soviet ‘super-tank’ project, the KMDB (Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau) Object 490 “Poplar” design prototype represented a radical rethinking of tank design to maximize armor, firepower, and protection.
Developed through the 1980s, the Object 490 would have been a monstrous vehicle, crewed by two in a cab at the rear of the hull. Sporting a massive 152mm 2A73 cannon mounted in a low-profile, remotely-operated turret, it could out-range and destroy any NATO vehicle with ease. Vision was provided almost entirely via 1st generation thermal imaging devices, and conventional cameras front and aft to provide vision. Quad tracks and twin engines provided ample mobility and locomotion redundancy. A veritable fortress, it combined heavy frontal armor, with a maximum equivalent of 4500mm of steel, a newly-developed ‘Gofr’ explosive reactive armor, and an advanced sensor suite linked to the (then cutting-edge) ‘Shtandart’ Active Protection System. Given the restrictive arc of fire, a remote weapons system with a 30mm grenade launcher to provide all-round protection against lightly armored threats.
Ultimately, the Object 490 would have been exceptionally complex, expensive, and relied on a plethora of then-immature technologies. Impressive as it was on paper, it had shortcomings in its vision systems, a highly restricted arc of fire (limited frontally to 45 degrees either direction), a high workload for the two-person crew, and mechanical complexity. The project was abandoned following the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, with Ukraine, home of KMDB, being unable to continue funding its development. As far as is known, while individual sub-systems and demonstrators were tested, the design never progressed beyond a full-sized wooden mock-up. Though no modern tanks have emulated the Object 490’s exact layout, it is a testament to the design that many of the ideas demonstrated by the vehicle are only just now being fielded on modern tanks, such as remote turrets and integrated active protection systems.
Built for the Brickfair Virginia 2023 eXperimental Military Collaboration. Joint upload with Aleksander Stein’s fantastic Strv. 141 Garm MBT!
Object 490 "Poplar" MBT
Since their first appearance lumbering over the fields of the Somme in 1916, the tank has been a core component of warfare, providing mobile, protected firepower. During the Cold War, it was expected that thousands of increasingly advanced NATO and Soviet Main Battle Tanks would clash on the plains of central Europe. Perhaps the ultimate Soviet ‘super-tank’ project, the KMDB (Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau) Object 490 “Poplar” design prototype represented a radical rethinking of tank design to maximize armor, firepower, and protection.
Developed through the 1980s, the Object 490 would have been a monstrous vehicle, crewed by two in a cab at the rear of the hull. Sporting a massive 152mm 2A73 cannon mounted in a low-profile, remotely-operated turret, it could out-range and destroy any NATO vehicle with ease. Vision was provided almost entirely via 1st generation thermal imaging devices, and conventional cameras front and aft to provide vision. Quad tracks and twin engines provided ample mobility and locomotion redundancy. A veritable fortress, it combined heavy frontal armor, with a maximum equivalent of 4500mm of steel, a newly-developed ‘Gofr’ explosive reactive armor, and an advanced sensor suite linked to the (then cutting-edge) ‘Shtandart’ Active Protection System. Given the restrictive arc of fire, a remote weapons system with a 30mm grenade launcher to provide all-round protection against lightly armored threats.
Ultimately, the Object 490 would have been exceptionally complex, expensive, and relied on a plethora of then-immature technologies. Impressive as it was on paper, it had shortcomings in its vision systems, a highly restricted arc of fire (limited frontally to 45 degrees either direction), a high workload for the two-person crew, and mechanical complexity. The project was abandoned following the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, with Ukraine, home of KMDB, being unable to continue funding its development. As far as is known, while individual sub-systems and demonstrators were tested, the design never progressed beyond a full-sized wooden mock-up. Though no modern tanks have emulated the Object 490’s exact layout, it is a testament to the design that many of the ideas demonstrated by the vehicle are only just now being fielded on modern tanks, such as remote turrets and integrated active protection systems.
Built for the Brickfair Virginia 2023 eXperimental Military Collaboration. Joint upload with Aleksander Stein’s fantastic Strv. 141 Garm MBT!